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W. D. LAWRENCE 8: F. A. HOPKINS. OFFICE DOOR INDIGATOR.

No. 521,983. Patented June 26, 1894.

AL Lrmoemwmns COMPANY.

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WILLARD D. LAWRENCE AND FRANCIS A. HOPKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS;

PAT NT OFFICE.

SAID HOPKINS ASSIGNOR TO SAID LAWRENCE.

OFFICE-DOOR INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,983, dated June 26, 1894.

Application filed March '7, 1894. Serial No. 502,723. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLARD D. LAW- RENOE and FRANCIS A. HOPKINS, citizens of the Unlted States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofv Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Office-Door Indicators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The invention relates to indicators or devices for use on office doors and other or analogous places, for indicating to callers when the occupant will return, or for giving other information.

It is often desirable to leave on the outer door of the office or other place; a notice of some kind, giving the time that the occupant will return, but owing to the exigencies of business and the yandalic jzend epcies of the small boy the means for g'ii Tng this notice zrnrustbvboth permanent and easily adjusted to suit the facts in the particular case and proof against casual efforts to remove or disfigure it. And for like reasons it should also be such that it may not be readily tampered with or altered by unauthorized persons. The former of these requisites necessitates that the device be of small dimensions since an object of huge dimensions permanently I secured to the door would be unsightly and 30 objectionable.

One of the important objects of the invention therefore is to produce a device for the described purpose and having the requisites specified, which shall be of small dimensions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the described nature, which shall be simple and cheap in a minimum degree.

With these ends in view the invention consists in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the claims. I

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a face view of the improved device. Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof taken on the line 2-2 Fig.1. Fig.3 is a detail face view indicating the manner of forming one of the parts hereinafter described. Fig. 4. is a detail face view of the spring hereinafter described, and Fig.

5 is a detail View showing a modification of the operating knob and its stem.

- Like signs of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

In constructing a device according to our invention we employ a-circular dial A which may be constructed of any suitable thin material such for instance, as celluloid, card board or thin metal and upon which, when the device is to be used for giving information having reference to the time of day, the figures or other characters a are printed or otherwise formed near its outer edge. der that this dial may be shielded from injury and kept clean it is arranged under a plate B which is provided at its edge with an opening 0 so that the proper number or character a may be presented to view, the dial A being revoluble. With adial of such small dimensions however, it is impossible to indicate the whole and the fractional hours thereon in figures sufficiently large to be discernable through an openingwhich would disclose only the particular hour or fractional hour which it is desired to present to View. We .therefore make the opening 0 of sufficient extent to disclose at least the whole hour and the fractional hours between it and the next Qwhole hour, and instead of writing each fractional hour out in full, as for instance, 1.15 or 1.30, we indicate the whole hours and divide up the spaces between each two into the requisite number of divisions either by putting in the small figures or charactersas indicated in the drawings, or by making a simple division mark as on an ordinary time piece dial; so that any one hour and the frac tions of an hour between that hour and the next whole hour may be disclosed at one time in the opening 0. We have shown the hours divided into quarters as such division is usually sufficient to meet the exigencies of'ordinary business. In order now that it may be determined which of thewhole hours or the divisional hours is referred to by the indicator, we provide the edge of the opening 0 with a fixed index or pointer D projecting thereinto and terminating near the edge of the line in which the characters 0b are arranged. Thus it will be seen that should it be desired to indicate 1.30 oclock for in- In or- 1 stance, the dial would be turned until both the figurel and the number 30 appeared in. the opening 0 with the number 30 directly opposite the index D. The face of the plate 13 mayhave indicated thereon the words .Vill return at or any other suitable matter having reference to the matter contained on the; dial. These words may be formed on the plate at any convenient place, but they are preferably arranged over the upper side with the last word arranged adjacent to the index D so that in reading the inscription the attention is led directly to the index, and the purpose of the device and the information which it is intended to convey will be readily understood. A further advantage of the fixed index D and rotary dial is that the in dex does not change its position with relation to the inscription and the hour indicated is always at the same and a convenient place to be read on the face of the device.

The dial A may be rotated by means of a stem E passing downward through it and a perforation F in theplate B and being providedwith an operating knob. This knob and stem may be conveniently and cheaply formed by stamping the same out of a flat plate G in the manner indicated in Fig. 3.. The stem is produced by striking down an tongue which is also indicated by the letten E in Fig. 3, and whose connected end termi-l nates or joins with the plate near the center of the 1 latter, the tongue being turned down at right angles as shown in Fig. 2 5 while the knob isformed by striking upward two tab-* like. portions 9 whose detached ends may be slightlywidened and bent toward each other as indicated in Fig.1, so as to form t a pur-l chase for the thumb and finger.

Theaperture or perforation F in plate B as already described is circular and of such diameter that the tongue or stem E will fit ac curately therein with capability of rotation, but without freedom of other movement. The opening in the dial A however, through which this stem passes, is complementary in shape to the stem so that the dial will be turned when the stem is rotated. The plate B is preferably formed integrally with a rim or side portion H in which the dial A fits, and to this rim H under the dial is secured at back or bottom plate I. This is con-. veniently accomplished by providing the rim H with a flange or seat It upon which the plate I is seated, and then reaming the edges of the flange h over the edges of the plate I as shown at it, thus holding the plate I in place and forming a box'like device in which the dial A is housed and protected. As a means of securing the device to the door or other surface on which it might be desired to locate it, the back plate I may be providedwith a screw J, and this is prefer. ablylocated eccentrically near one edge so that the body of the device may be utilized, as a lever for turning the screw up. Such arrangement of the screw will also avoid bonding the bottom plate inward when the device is subjected to the requisite pressure for forcing the screw in.

In order that the dial may be held firmly in its adjustment without danger of being disarranged by the casual efforts of passers by, or by other unauthorized persons not familiar with the'construction, the under side of the plate G is provided with a pin or lug K which is adapted to engage in any one of a number of cavities or holes L formed in the plate 13, and thus lock the stem E against r0- tation until the plate G has been raised or drawn outward a sufficient distance to disengage the pin K, the holes L corresponding 11] number and relative arrangement to the char acters on the dial A, so that whenever a character. is directly opposite the index D the pin Kwill be coincident with one of the holes L.

In order that the plate G with its knob and stem may be drawn out sufficiently to permit of this disengagement of the pinK and yet when released to again cause such pinto engage, we provide the end of the stem with some suitable spring which will draw the plate G normally inwardor againstthe plate B. In order to accomplishthis and at the same time hold the dial A fiat against theunder side of the plate B, we interpose the spring between the under side of the dial :anda suitable lug on the stem E. The spring preferably consists of ablade spring M havinga slot on through which passes a split nib e on the lower end of the stem E, the prongs of. the nib being bent in opposite directions after passing through the spring.

The pinor lug K may be conveniently formed by. striking down a small portionrof the plate G.

If desired the knob and its stem and lugK, may be constructed as shown in Fig. 5, and which consists of an ordinary casting g from which projects a stem having a rounded p0rtion N for fitting the orifice F and a prismatic portion a for passing through a complementary opening in the dial and having thespring M secured to its lower end in any suitable way.

Having thusdescribed our invention, what we claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

.1. A device for the purpose described having in combination a movable dial provided with characters, a plate arranged over: said dial and having an opening adapted toexpose at one time a number of the characters on said dial and the edge of said opening being provided with an inwardly projecting. index pointing to said characters, substantially as set forth.

2. A device for the purpose described having in combination a movable: dial {provided with characters indicating whole and frac tional hours, and a plate arranged over said dial and being provided with an openingof sufficient extent to exposeto view at least one whole hour and the fractional hours between such whole hour and the next whole hour, and

IITO said opening being provided with an index pointing to said characters, substantially as set forth. ,7 3. A device for the purpose described having in combination a movable dial having characters indicated thereon, a plate cover ing said dial and having an opening for exposing some of said characters and said opening being provided with an index,a knob for turning said dial and means for checking the rotationofsaid knob,substantiallyas setforth.

4. A device for the purpose described having in combination a rotary dial provided with characters, a plate covering said dial and having an opening for exposing some of said characters and the edge of said opening be ing provided with an index, a plate having a knob for turning said dial, one of said plates being provided with a series of sockets or perforations corresponding to the characters on said dial and the other with a pin or lug for engaging in said perforations or sockets, substantially as set forth.

5. A device for the purpose described having in combination a movable dial provided with characters, a plate covering said dial and having an opening-in the line of movement of said characters, a knob for moving said dial, the said plate and knob being provided the one with a series of perforations or sockets and the other with a pin or lug adapted to engage in said sockets, and a spring for causing said pin or lug to engage, substantially as set forth.

6. A device for the purpose described hav ing in combination a movable dial provided with characters, a plate arranged over said dial and having an opening arranged in the line of said characters, a knob having a stem depending through said first plate and dial, a spring on said stem adapted to draw it in one direction and bearing against said dial, the said plate and knob being provided the one with a lug and the other with a series of perforations or sockets in which said lug engages, substantially as set forth.

7. A device for the purpose described having in combination a face plate provided with an opening, a knob having a stem passing through said face plate, a spring secured on said stem, a dial arranged on said stem between said face plate and spring and having characters arranged to pass said opening, the said face plate and knob being provided the one with a series of perforations or sockets and the other with a pin or lug adapted to engage in said sockets, substantially as set forth.

8. A device for the purpose described having in combination a rotary dial rovided with characters,'a face plate over said dial having an opening to expose said characters,a plate G having the upset tabs or portions g forming a knob and the down turned tongue E forming a stem passing through said dial, substantially as set forth.

' WILLARD 'D; LAWRENCE.

F. A. HOPKINS.

Witnesses: V

HARRY WHITE, EDNA B. JOHNSON. 

